Gail Palmgren

December 05, 2011 07:31 PM EST
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Human Remains discovered around Signal Mountain, Tennessee have been positively matched to missing woman, Gail Palmgren. Although it was highly suspected to be her decomposing body, the identification makes things even more somber.

When Gail Palmgren vanished several months ago, it was believed that she was abducted or murdered. The investigation into the missing woman spanned across Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia with no results. The human remains discovered recently are in fact the missing woman, but what's shocking is what police believe to be her cause of death.

It appears that Gail Palmgren is the victim of a tragic car accident. It's shocking, but at the same time it's relieving, to hear that she may not have been abducted or harmed by a predator in any way. However, pathologists are looking further into the remains to determine an actual COD.

Gail Palmgren has been mentioned alongside other missing women in the area including Karen Johnson Swift and missing nursing student Holly Bobo. It's been speculated that a serial predator is abducting these blonde, attractive women. However, that may not be the case with this particular missing woman. Hopefully more is found out soon.

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Remains offiically identified as those of Gail Palmgren
By Beverly A. Carroll
Published Monday, December 5, 2011 5:52 pm EST

Remains found on the side of Signal Mountain are those of Gail Palmgren, the Signal Mountain mother of two, who has been missing for nearly eight months.

"Joanne Devlin of the UT Department of Forensic Anthropology notified the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department that the remains are those of Gail Palmgren," spokeswoman Janice Atkinson said.

Atkinson said the investigators will await the remaining pathology reports as the investigation proceeds.

Local wrecker company Yates Wrecker worked more than five hours to free the missing woman's red Jeep from the rough mountain terrain where authorities said they found it after it left Brow Road in the town of Walden, atop the mountain. Yates will take the vehicle to the sheriff's facility on Dayton Boulevard where the crime analysts will process it for evidence, Atkinson said.

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"Black Box" Data To Help In Palmgren Crash Investigation
December 05, 2011 6:46 PM
John Pless

One of the keys that could help unlock the mystery of Gail Palmgren's deadly crash lies in a stash of computer chips under the hood of the Jeep Rubicon.

So we did some digging into what these so-called "black boxes" are capable of.

Many people have no idea that their car is keeping track of what's happening when they are behind the wheel. An on-board computer called an electronic control module, or event data recorder, is a gold mine of information.

"We can look at that information which gives us a real clear idea of what was actually going on at the time of the collision," Morgan Adams said.

Adams is a Chattanooga attorney who specializes in accident cases. While he's not connected with the Palmgren case he is helping us understand a very important part of the investigation.

Hamilton County traffic investigators have pulled the data recorder, sometimes referred to as a "black box," from Palmgren's Jeep.

Depending on the make and model of your vehicle, the data acts as a witness to the crash based on information stored.

"Whether your seat belt was on, whether your turn signal was on, how fast you were going, how long you were going that fast, how hard did you brake, it gives a wealth of information," Adams explained.

With each passing year the data recorders get more sophisticated, tracking and storing more information. Privacy concerns are growing over what's collected and who actually owns the data.

Typically it's the car owner's data, but after a crash that can change. Adams said police have to get a search warrant before they can download those details. But insurance or towing and salvage companies may also have a right to the information.

"After a horrible wreck most cars are totaled, so at that point in time people accept checks from the insurance company," Adams said. "Well, now that the insurance company owns the car the question becomes do they own the data?"

Adams says ownership of data depends on what state you live in.

Private traffic investigators said data recording devices are used on Ford, GM, Chrysler and just this year, Toyota vehicles. But next year a federal law takes effect requiring all new vehicles in the U.S. be equipped with the so-called "black boxes."

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January 5th, 2012

The widower of a Signal Mountain woman who was missing for seven months hopes to move on with his life now that Hamilton County Sheriff's Office has ruled her death the result of a car accident, his attorney said Wednesday.

Matthew Palmgren, 40, had " a lot of unfair scrutiny" placed on him after his wife, Gail Palmgren, disappeared on April 30, said attorney Lee Davis. Some critics complained that Matt Palmgren didn't do enough to find his wife, Davis said, citing some of Gail Palmgren's friends and local media outlets.

"From Matt's perspective, he didn't do anything wrong. He knows he didn't do anything wrong," Davis said.

Gail Palmgren, 44, was last seen by her family after she dropped the couple's two children off at their home around noon on April 30. On May 2, Palmgren reported his wife missing to Signal Mountain authorities. On May 16, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office became the lead agency on the case.

At a news conference Wednesday, Traffic Sgt. Mark Kimsey said Gail Palmgren crashed between 12:26 p.m. and 12:38 p.m. near the 1400 block of East Brow Road. Her Jeep Rubicon went over the edge of Signal Mountain, plummeting 155 feet.
Detective Ric Whaley said Matt Palmgren was at home with the children at the time of the crash.

Now he is trying to support his children, Davis said.

"He's now in the process of trying to take care of the employment situation and has the kids in school and wants to keep them there. That's what he's trying to do," Davis said. "Some of Gail's family members stayed at Matt's house this weekend. It's a large family. They are doing the best they can to get through a difficult situation."

The Palmgrens were on the verge of a divorce and had several arguments that drew police before she disappeared.

"I think the investigation coming to a close and findings they presented today show it was a tragic accident," Davis said. "The work the sheriff's office put into it was a tremendous amount of work. Their findings are absolutely conclusive."

Investigators found the 2010 Jeep Rubicon in an aerial search last month.

The Jeep's event data recorder documented the vehicle's first collision with a boulder on the edge of the roadway after Gail Palmgren overcorrected and went over the edge. Her speed was below 30 mph, the recorder showed.

Why she overcorrected is a mystery, he said.

"It was either inattention, distraction or an object presented a threat to her coming at her or she drifted over to the left. Something caused her to input significant steering to the right before she tumbled off the bluff," Kimsey said.

There was no evidence on her cellphone to indicate she was calling, texting or emailing, he said, and nothing from the vehicle showed any evidence of tampering.


The Hamilton County Medical Examiner's report has not been finalized, but Sheriff Jim Hammond said what forensic pathologists "are able to establish from the remains is consistent with a high-trauma, instant death."

A Signal Mountain police report filed Friday -- the day of Gail's funeral service -- said that Matthew Palmgren asked Diane Nichols, Gail Palmgren's sister, to leave the family's home when she tried to give the children Christmas gifts. When Nichols did not follow his request, he contacted authorities.

Investigators met with the Palmgren children recently at the crash site to help give them closure, Hammond said.

"It seemed to be therapy for them. There will be unanswered questions. We know that. There will be speculation," Hammond said. "We will continue to entertain reliable information. Based on medical forensics; based on traffic forensics; based on skills of professionals here, we feel like this should bring this matter to a conclusion."

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January 14th, 2012

In the hours before the car crash that took her life, Gail Palmgren called Signal Mountain police to inform them that she and her children were returning home from Alabama, where she was having a "timeout" from her husband, 911 recordings show.

Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond announced last week that the investigation in the 44-year-old Signal Mountain mother's death was closed after determining her seven-month disappearance and death were a result of nothing more than a "tragic accident."

The April 30 phone calls, obtained by WRCB-TV Channel 3 from the Hamilton County 911 Center, reveal Palmgren wanted to make sure authorities knew she was not "kidnapping them" after she took them to the family's lake house in Wetumpka, Ala.

Palmgren went to the lake house after police responded to one of a series of domestic disputes she had with her husband, officials say.

The calls show that Palmgren's sister called Signal Mountain police to share her sister's concerns, and a dispatcher contacted Palmgren shortly after.

"I needed basically a timeout from my husband and I was going to take the kids down to the lake house, and I didn't want anybody to think I was kidnapping them," Palmgren explains to the dispatcher during the call.

"I just needed to get away. He said that they wanted me back in like 12 or 14 hours, and I don't remember them saying that, but."
At this point the dispatcher interrupts to ask who told her that.

"My husband said the police told me that, but I don't remember them telling me that. But, we're headed back up to Signal Mountain. I just wanted the police to be aware where I am, where the kids are, and where we're headed."

At that point the dispatcher tells Palmgren to call the station again if she needs assistance.

Palmgren thanks the dispatcher before hanging up. Several hours later Palmgren dropped the children off at their Signal Mountain home, and almost 20 minutes after that, Palmgren's Jeep careened over the edge of East Brow Road, traffic investigators say.

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